The 25th Colin Clark Memorial Lecture: "Gender in Economics: A Story in the Making"

Gender in Economics: A Story in the MakingPresented by: Professor Alison Booth, Australian National University

The relative bargaining power between men and women was shaped by our evolutionary history. With the introduction of agricultural cultivation, it shifted in favour of men, and became codified over time in customs and institutions. During the past century, these customs slowly altered in response to technological developments and socio-political changes.

Yet some elements of our customs have been hard to change. This can be illustrated by looking at gender pay gaps across the wages distribution. In Australia’s private sector, the pay gaps are largest at the top. I provide an overview of potential causes of these pay gaps, including the arguments, advanced by some, that women are inherently less willing to take risks and less willing to be competitive.

Does this then mean that women will never achieve pay-parity because they are innately less willing to take risks or be competitive, both of which lead to higher pay and output? Or does social conditioning or nurture lead to women becoming this way? I briefly summarise a series of experiments that my co-authors and I have undertaken to address these questions. They cover attitudes to risk, competitive behaviour, and the role of education. I conclude by outlining public policy interventions that have the potential to achieve gender pay-parity.